Groundhog Weather + Recycling LOL + Family Concerns

fitbit Update

I haven't used my fitbit much lately for a variety of reasons:  arctic weather, bad hip, dead battery, whatever. The last day I seriously used it, I amassed over 13,000 steps. What do you think about that? Sadly, I can't even remember the date.

Whimsical Weather

Groundhog Day's Blizzard 2016

Norfolk officially received 14" of snow, although Lois found a Facebook link to a Lincoln TV station that reported our amount as 20"?! Wayne, which is about a half hour or so northeast of here, received 16". Our favorite son-in-law * cleared our driveway on Wednesday morning. Predictably, the city snowplows cleared our streets early that afternoon & covered the entrance to our driveway. Later in the afternoon the entrance to our driveway got cleared again. Was it you, Derek?
* Sorry, Craig, but Derek cleared our driveway. I'm sure you'll have other chances in the future.

Leckband Temp Challenge

Based on the NOAA web site at 7:15a, CST, all temps in F, here are this morning's ratings.

• #1, Ventura, IA, 5/no wind chill
• #2, Eagan, MN, 9/-2
• #3, Worthington, MN, 16/4
• #4, Beatrice, NE, 21/no wc
• #5, Lincoln, NE, 15/7
• #6, Garrison, IA, 12/no wc
• #7, BALMIEST LECKBAND, Norfolk, NE, 25/13

Notes:  (1) I am in a Super 8 this morning, on my way to see my new grandson in Eagan, MN; hence the inclusion of Worthington. Yes, I know that ordinarily the Leckband Temp Challenge does NOT take into account those places where family members find themselves on the road, but it's MY Temp Challenge. If you don't like it, do your OWN Temp Challenge. (2) I don't have my crack team of temp consultants w/me, so I hope my mental math skills * are accurate, since I had to apply the highly secretive differential equation to determine many of these rankings this morning. (3) I agree. The huge contrast involving Lincoln's data is mysterious, but I lack the motivation to go back & recheck it.

* I was a secondary English major. **

** And proud of it.

Political TUE . . . FRI Edition

From Norfolk Daily News (1/18/16):  "Recycling not as good as thought? William Shughart must be one brave soul. The faculty member at Utah State University's Huntsman School of Business has come out publicly w/reservations about the value of recycling. It's sort of like being opposed to apple pie or baseball . . . let's consider some of his points.

• "The EPA says that recycling a ton of paper or aluminum cans can save about 3 tons of carbon dioxide emissions over producing those materials anew. But there's more to the equation. Paper mills pay for the trees they process. If it were cost-effective to recycle scrap paper, producers would be beating down everyone's door to buy it. But they aren't. That means it's more expensive & more resource-intensive to recycle old paper than to cut & pulp pine trees & then replant seedlings for processing when mature. [Wouldn't you know . . . paper is the only thing we recycle, because it's the main recyclable that's convenient to recycle in Norfolk. We donate our paper to Lutheran High Northeast, which probably gains a pittance, but it makes us feel better.]
• "Plastic provides another cautionary tale. It is now cheaper to make a new plastic container than to recycle an old one. Even if that were not true, the EPA says recycling a ton of plastic saves only about a ton of carbon dioxide. However, that estimate doesn't take into account the water most consumers use to rinse their plastic containers before they put them into a recycling bin. NY Times science columnist John Tierney recently wrote, 'If you wash plastic in water that was heated by coal-derived electricity, then the net effect of your recycling could be more carbon in the atmosphere.' [I don't think we have an outlet for plastic recyclables  in Norfolk. I think this is a little funny.]
• "Many municipalities across the country continue to pick up glass in recycling trucks only to dump it at the local landfill. By sending an extra fleet of trucks around town once a week, adherents of recycling actually are undermining their stated goal of protecting the environment."  [Ditto my previous comments. We recycle what we can, because we believe it's a mandate for God's people, who've been called to be good stewards of God's creation. As far as saving Mother Earth. Uh, I'll have to get back to you on that.]

From Lincoln Journal Star (1/24/16):  "Animal welfare groups oppose zoo's elephant order. "Legal challenges from animal rights groups could delay plans to bring elephants from southern Africa to the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium in Omaha . . . U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service permits approved this week will allow the zoos to take the elephants from Big Game Parks, an independent nonprofit that manages several wildlife parks in Swaziland. The park was planning to kill the elephants as a population control measure because the growing elephant herd was degrading the park's food supply & endangering other animals."  [Dept. of Imaginary Press Conferences . . . ARAS *: I've called this press conference today to proudly announce that we've filed a legal challenge that hopefully will delay the Henry Doorly Zoo's attempt to bring elephants to the zoo from Swaziland. REPORTER: And what's your purpose for filing this legal challenge? ARAS: Putting elephants in zoos is an inhumane practice. REPORTER: My understanding is that by importing this elephants, the zoo will spare them from being killed. ARAS: Oh . . . wait . . . what?]

* Animal Rights Activist Spokesperson

Concern for my millennial nieces, nephews, & their young ones *

Tagline from The Corner, Jonah Goldberg's NRO column (1/30/16). "Is screen time making today's kids moody, crazy & lazy?" [Lois might comment that screen time is making ME moody, crazy & lazy. I'm just sayin']

Tagline from Drudge Report (1/30/16). "College Kids Spend 1/5 of Class Time Texting, Checking Socials . . . " [I can neither confirm nor deny rumors that Google & Facebook are funding initiatives to supply college kids w/hand-held devices to use in classrooms on campus.]

From Omaha World Herald (1/12/16):  "Most young adults feel pain of digital eye strain. Do you have unexplained dry, irritated eyes? Blurred vision? Neck & back pain & headaches? If so, your digital gadgets may be (at least partly) to blame. The results of a new survey released at the Consumer Electronics Show by the Vision Council, a trade group representing the nation's eye-care products, shows that most Americans are overexposing their eyes to technology. Nearly 90% said they spend 2 or more hours on a digital device each day, & many spend significantly more time on them. One in 10 reported spending at least 75% of their waking hours looking at a screen . . . Adults younger than 30 may be most vulnerable . . . " [I'm posting this as a public service announcement for some of my young adult compadres. You know who you are.]

* Because that's just the kind of guy I am.

Criminal Minds

Also from NDN (1/15):  "Future certain. The head of a southwestern Michigan mental health agency has learned his future:  At least 32 months in prison for using public money to hire a fortuneteller . . . Drinker was CEO at Summit Pointe, a mental health organization in Battle Creek that serves people in 5 counties. He was accused of spending $510,000 on a palm reader & her husband in Key West, FL . . . " [Maybe fortune-telling is a legitimate therapy for certain mental-health clients?!]

Also from OWH (1/29):  "Would-be terrorist on trial in Australia allegedly planned a kangaroo bomb." [His mistake? Should have planned to cross the southern border of the U.S.A. I'm just saying']

Food for Thought

Also from OWH (1/29):  "Ex-Omaha gorilla gets party, misses out on cake. The Philadelphia Zoo had a 31st birthday party for Motuba the gorilla that included songs, presents & a cake. But he didn't get to eat the cake. One of his housemates snatched the cake & took it up to a perch, where she ate the whole thing . . . " [This just seems so unfair to Motuba. Hey, Motuba! I feel your pain!!]